INTERIM Research Survey 2/1b REPORTS CHILDREN’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PEER INTERACTION AND CLASSROOM LEARNING Christine Howe and Neil Mercer University of Cambridge For other interim reports in this series, and for briefings on each report, go to www.primaryreview.org.uk This report has been commissioned as evidence to the Primary Review. The analysis and opinions it contains are the authors’ own. Copyright © University of Cambridge 2007 PRIMARY REVIEW INTERIM REPORTS CHILDREN’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PEER INTERACTION AND CLASSROOM LEARNING Primary Review Research Survey 2/1b Christine Howe and Neil Mercer This is one of a series of 32 interim reports from the Primary Review, an independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. The Review was launched in October 2006 and will publish its final report in late 2008. The Primary Review, supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, is based at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education and directed by Robin Alexander. A briefing which summarises key issues from this report has also been published. The report and briefing are available electronically at the Primary Review website: www.primaryreview.org.uk. The website also contains Information about other reports in this series and about the Primary Review as a whole. (Note that minor amendments may be made to the electronic version of reports after the hard copies have been printed). We want this report to contribute to the debate about English primary education, so we would welcome readers’ comments on anything it contains. Please write to: [email protected]. The report forms part of the Review’s research survey strand, which consists of thirty specially-commissioned surveys of published research and other evidence relating to the Review’s ten themes. The themes and reports are listed in Appendices 1 and 3. This survey relates to Primary Review theme 2, Learning and Teaching. Christine Howe is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. Neil Mercer is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. Suggested citation: Howe, C. and Mercer, N. (2007) Children’s Social Development, Peer Interaction and Classroom Learning (Primary Review Research Survey 2/1b), Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Published October 2007 by The Primary Review, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, UK. Copyright © 2007 The University of Cambridge. All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Primary Review, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation or the University of Cambridge. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-906478-09-4 CHILDREN’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PEER INTERACTION AND CLASSROOM LEARNING 1. INTRODUCTION Within educational research a particular theoretical perspective has become influential over recent decades, from which classroom learning and cognitive development are seen as cultural processes. Here, knowledge is regarded not only as possessed individually but also as created and shared amongst members of communities, and the ways that knowledge is created and shared are seen to be shaped by cultural and historical factors. This socio-cultural perspective differs from other influential approaches to the study of education, such as those inspired by Piagetian stage theory or notions of inherited intelligence, by treating children’s intellectual achievements as the product not just of their own efforts or discoveries but also of interaction in a cultural context. This does not mean that socio-cultural researchers believe that intellectual achievement is determined entirely by social experiences. Rather they share the view that, no matter what other factors are involved, one cannot fully understand the nature of thinking, learning and development without taking account of the intrinsically historical, social and communicative nature of human life. In the survey that follows, we shall be adopting a socio-cultural perspective, and therefore our focus too will be upon the social processes that shape children’s growth. Equally though, we shall not be denying other influences, and from time to time (for example when discussing temperament) we shall consider these influences explicitly. Detailed accounts of the socio-cultural perspective as applied to education can be found in Wells and Claxton (2002) and Daniels (2001). The assumption that is crucial for present purposes is that development and learning are shaped to a significant extent by social and communicative interactions. These interactions will inevitably reflect the historical development, cultural values and social practices of the societies and communities in which schools and other educational institutions exist, as well as the more local cultures and practices within particular schools and classrooms. An important implication is encouragement to look for the causes of educational success and failure in the nature and quality of the social and communicative processes in classrooms, rather than in the intrinsic capability of individual students, the didactic presentational skills of individual teachers, or the quality of the educational methods and materials that have been used. In this survey, we review a proportion of the research that this implication has stimulated. We have not attempted to cover everything, for the material is extensive. In any event, some aspects are dealt with elsewhere in The Primary Review, and we could not do justice to them while giving space to aspects which those other surveys do not cover. This means, in particular, that we do not deal with interactions between teachers and children, or go into detail about interactions amongst children when they are not engaged in school work (both of which are important, but are dealt with elsewhere). Instead, we discuss the educational significance of classroom interaction amongst children, and consider which factors seem to be most important for their learning and cognitive development. We also review research which has attempted to improve the quality of collaborative activity, usually with the aim of improving both the productivity of that interaction and its learning outcomes for the individuals concerned. For reasons which we will explain, we give special attention to the quality of talk amongst children. 2 Classroom interaction amongst children has been studied from perspectives that contrast with the socio-cultural one that we shall be adopting; perspectives that will also be covered elsewhere in The Primary Review. For instance, the co-operative learning tradition (for example Johnson & Johnson 2000; Slavin 1995) usually emphasises the goals that children pursue together, rather than the social and communicative processes through which this proceeds. Research into peer tutoring (for example Goodlad & Hirst 1989; Topping & Ehly 1998) involves instructing one child in how to assist another, but typically focuses on the outcomes of instructional exchanges rather than their content. In fact, there are, arguably, only two approaches to interaction amongst children that can be regarded as genuinely socio-cultural. The first approach stems from research reported in Vygotsky (1962, 1978), scarcely unexpected when Vygotsky’s work provides the foundations for socio-cultural theory as a whole. The source of the second approach may be more surprising, for it is the early work of Piaget (for example 1932), who is more usually associated with a theory of individual development than with the effects of social interaction. In what follows, we shall start by outlining the Vygotskyan and Piagetian approaches to interaction amongst children, and the research that these approaches have inspired. This will allow us to draw conclusions about the nature of productive interaction. With a clear conception of what productive interaction involves we shall then consider research, which shows how rarely it occurs classrooms. We shall acknowledge that the problem lies partly with the tasks that children are typically asked to perform, and we shall propose alternative approaches to task design. However, informed by our socio-cultural perspective, we shall emphasise that interaction amongst children does not take place in a vacuum, but is heavily influenced by the social histories that children bring to bear. After discussing how these histories should be conceptualised, we shall argue that as well as influencing classroom interaction, they are themselves constituted, in part at least, by social interaction, both within and outside the classroom. Thus, any attempt to promote interaction that is conducive to learning will of necessity have to acknowledge a contextual dimension. Our survey will conclude by discussing the implications for classroom intervention. 2. THE WORK AND INFLUENCE OF VYGOTSKY AND PIAGET Vygotsky’s (1962, 1978) guiding assumption was that the acquisition and use of language transforms children’s thinking. He described language as both a cultural tool (for developing and sharing knowledge amongst members of a community) and a psychological tool (for structuring the processes and content of individual thought). He also proposed that there is a close relationship between these two functions of language, which can be summed up in the claim that inter-mental (social, interactional) activity stimulates some of the most important